U.s. Jury Hears Meese On Wedtech

June 02, 1987|By Christopher Drew, Chicago Tribune.

WASHINGTON — Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese appeared Monday for more than two hours before a federal grand jury investigating his role in helping scandal-ridden Wedtech Corp. win a $32 million Army contract without competitive bidding.

Meese`s lawyer, Nathan Lewin, said it was the second time that the nation`s highest law enforcement officer had testified before the grand jury, impaneled by Independent Counsel James McKay.

Lewin said Meese, White House counselor to President Reagan from 1981 until he was named attorney general in 1985, went before the grand jury in March, when prosecutors viewed him mainly as a witness against former White House aide Lyn Nofziger and others under investigation for aiding the New York defense contractor.

But last month McKay received permission from Meese to expand the inquiry to cover Meese`s ordering of a White House review in early 1982 to ensure that Wedtech received a ``fair hearing`` from Army officials.

Consequently, Meese appeared before the jury Monday as a ``subject`` of the inquiry. In legal terms, a subject is a person whose actions come under the scope of a grand jury`s investigation.

Lewin said Meese answered all the questions that McKay asked him in the grand jury`s presence. But Lewin declined to discuss the nature of the questions.

Meese and McKay declined to comment.

Wedtech, a minority-owned company that used political clout to become a powerful defense contractor, is being reorganized under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy laws.

Four of its top officers have pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe federal, state and local officials and members of Congress and are cooperating with five state and federal investigations. High-ranking New York National Guard and Bronx Borough officials also have been charged in the case, and more New York indictments are expected soon.

Sources have said McKay is trying to determine whether Meese received any financial benefit for helping Wedtech.

Meese has acknowledged that he interceded on the firm`s behalf after receiving several memorandums from a Wedtech lawyer, E. Robert Wallach.

Wallach, a longtime friend of Meese`s, later got nearly $1 million in cash and stock from Wedtech and arranged for Meese to invest $60,000 with a Wedtech consultant.

The consultant, W. Franklyn Chinn, began managing Meese`s money in a

``blind partnership trust`` in May, 1985, a month after he began working for Wedtech. Chinn later was named to Wedtech`s board of directors.

Administration sources have said that James Jenkins, then Meese`s top deputy, convened a meeting in May, 1982, at which the Army agreed to raise the price it would pay Wedtech for motor generators.

The federal Small Business Administration also agreed at that meeting to provide Wedtech with enough financing to handle the contract.

Jenkins later went to work for Wedtech and started a business with a representative of Fairchild Industries Inc., an aircraft maker. Meese and Jenkins reportedly assisted Fairchild by urging the Air Force to extend production of A-10 bombers.

Meese has said he and his aides did nothing wrong. He said they were trying to help Wedtech to improve Reagan`s standing with minorities and to fulfill a campaign pledge to provide more jobs in disadvantaged areas.